Military & Veteran Debt Relief

If your credit card balances barely move even when you pay on time, a Money Fit counselor can help you compare paying the cards yourself with a nonprofit debt management plan. A plan gives you one monthly payment for eligible debts, and participating creditors may lower your interest rates.

$0 in Money Fit fees for every active-duty service member: Credit counseling is free. If you start a debt management plan, you pay no enrollment fee and no monthly Money Fit fee. We’ve offered this waiver for more than two decades. Deployment is not required.
50% off the enrollment fee for veterans: Credit counseling is free. If you choose a debt management plan, Money Fit cuts the one-time enrollment fee in half. Your counselor will show you any monthly plan fee before you decide.

What to have handy

One recent card statement is enough to start a conversation. Look for the interest charged on the last statement and the minimum due on the next payment. If your pay is changing because of a move, deployment or a new civilian job, tell us which paycheck that payment has to come from.

Which bill do you need help with?

A credit card statement, a rent bill and a VA debt letter call for different first steps. Start with the one on your desk.

Credit card minimums take too much of each paycheck: If several balances barely move from month to month, see how a debt management plan works. If only one payment is tight before payday, call the issuer and ask what it can offer for this billing cycle. Confirm when any change takes effect.
You owe VA for a benefit overpayment or a health care copay: Check the due date on your notice. VA can explain the charge, tell you how to dispute it if you think it’s wrong, or help you request repayment terms. Manage a VA overpayment or copay bill.
You’re on active duty and need rent money or an essential car repair: A service relief organization may be able to help with a one-time expense. Tell them what is due, how much you need and when you need it. Find your branch’s relief organization through Military OneSource.
You took out high-interest debt before active duty: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act may cap interest on an eligible pre-service debt at 6%. You can request this directly from your creditor, whether or not you use counseling. See how to request the SCRA interest rate cap.

How a debt management plan can help with credit cards

With a debt management plan, you make one monthly payment to Money Fit. We send the agreed amounts to participating creditors so you can repay eligible balances in full. The military fee waiver covers what Money Fit charges. You still repay the money you borrowed.

Lower interest can help you pay down the balance

A participating creditor may lower your interest rate or waive late or over-limit fees. At a lower rate, more of the same payment goes toward what you owe.

One payment you can compare with today’s bills

Add up the minimum payments on the accounts you’d include. Your counselor can put that total beside the proposed monthly plan payment, including any Money Fit fee. Depending on the accounts and creditor terms, the combined payment may be lower.

What Money Fit’s 2025 enrollment data show

Across Money Fit’s debt management program, people who enrolled in 2025 reduced their total monthly debt payments by more than $250 on average. This program-wide figure measures the change in monthly payments. To see what a plan would cost your household over time, ask your counselor to show you the proposed payment, interest rates, fees and estimated payoff date together.

Can my credit cards go on a plan?

Money Fit works with major card issuers, including the examples below. If you have two cards from the same bank, bring both statements. Your counselor looks at each account’s balance, rate and payment status. Each creditor decides whether an account can participate and what terms it can offer.

These examples do not imply endorsement. If your lender is missing from the list, you can still bring the statement to counseling.

What happens after you send the form?

Your request goes to Money Fit. We don’t sell your contact information to lenders or debt companies. You can use the free credit counseling session even if you’re current on every payment. Enrollment is a separate decision you make after counseling.

Work out what your household can spare. Start with take-home pay and the bills that keep the household running, including housing, groceries, child care and transportation. If an allowance is ending or a spouse’s next paycheck is uncertain, tell your counselor before you settle on a monthly amount.
Go through the accounts. Use your statements to compare rates, minimums and due dates. Point out which balances keep growing, which bills are already late and which card you still use for everyday expenses.
Look at the numbers before deciding. If a plan fits, your counselor explains which accounts could be included, what your payment would be, which Money Fit fees apply and which terms depend on creditor approval. Compare that with paying the cards yourself.

If the payment would leave you short for rent or groceries, we’ll tell you. We can talk through what to say to a creditor about a hardship arrangement and which bills need attention first. You can use that advice without enrolling.

When a move or a new job changes the math

Suppose a permanent change of station leaves hotel and moving expenses on two cards. If you can cover both minimums and clear the balances in a few paychecks, you may be able to handle them on your own. Your counselor can help you estimate how much interest you’d pay by putting the extra toward the higher-rate card first.

If those same balances will follow you into civilian life, use the take-home pay you expect from the new job to test the repayment plan. The first question may be as simple as whether the first paycheck will arrive before the next card payment is due.

Questions about military and veteran debt help

Do I have to be deployed to get the active-duty fee waiver?

No. We confirm your active-duty status. The fee waiver applies at your home station and while deployed, without a separate hardship application.

Is the monthly plan fee discounted for veterans?

The veteran discount applies to the one-time enrollment fee. Your counselor will show you any monthly Money Fit fee and how much goes to your creditors before you decide.

What kinds of debt can I bring to counseling?

Bring your credit card and store card statements, unsecured personal loan statements, medical bills or collection notices. Your counselor can help you sort through all of them. Whether a particular debt can go on a plan depends on the account and the creditor.

What if I can pay my cards off on my own?

You can use counseling to work out which card to pay first and how much extra you can afford. If you can cover the minimums and have money left over, paying extra toward the card with the highest interest rate can reduce what you spend on interest.

Can I keep using the credit cards on a debt management plan?

Credit cards included in a Money Fit plan are closed to new purchases. Tell your counselor if you use one for groceries, automatic bills or travel. Work through how you would pay those expenses before deciding which accounts to include.

Will a debt management plan forgive my balances?

A debt management plan repays eligible balances in full. You make scheduled payments, and participating creditors may reduce interest or fees. Money Fit does not lend you money or ask you to stop paying creditors to negotiate a settlement.

Talk through your next payment

Tell us which bill is giving you trouble and what you need to cover before your next paycheck. The conversation is free. You decide whether a plan fits.

Start with a confidential debt review or call (800) 432-0310.